A dangerous world

"Attention, citizens!"

"Three animal-like monsters have appeared in the southern district of City M. Fifteen citizens have already been killed!"

"Several B-Class Heroes are already on their way to the area. Please stay away..."

Watching the news on television and the footage of people scrambling to escape, Baicang rubbed his brow in distress.

"This world is way too dangerous!"

Baicang had transmigrated here only a month ago. Having inherited the original owner's memories, he had soon discovered something rather alarming.

He had come to the world of One-Punch Man...

That's right!

That dangerous world where Dragon-level monsters were a dime a dozen, Demon-level monsters roamed everywhere, and even an electric fan could come to life and crush humans at will.

The survival difficulty was practically SS-rank!!

(Not recommended for first-time transmigrators~)

Fortunately, though.

Baicang knew something about the world of One-Punch Man, so he wasn't completely in the dark.

-In the world of One-Punch Man.

World wars on ancient Earth had reduced the population, so humanity had unified its language and established the United Government to ensure the survival of the species.

Later, the natural environment had deteriorated.

Humanity had been forced to abandon the other landmasses and relocate entirely to a single "Supercontinent," where the cities were divided into twenty-six districts designated by the letters A-Z.

Among them lurked terrifying beings known as monsters.

Some monsters had once been humans, transformed by extreme emotions or their surroundings into humanoid abominations or nonhuman beasts.

Others were unusual life-forms, artificially modified mechanical beings, and the like.

Without exception, however, they posed an enormous threat to humanity.

They were classified into several disaster levels according to the threat they posed.

Wolf-level: the appearance of a potential danger.

Tiger-level: a crisis that could cause mass casualties.

Demon-level: a crisis capable of bringing a city's functions to a halt or destroying it.

Dragon-level: a crisis involving the destruction of multiple cities.

God-level: a crisis threatening the extinction of humanity.

In such a dangerous world, ordinary citizens only made their presence felt in casualty reports, and he was currently one of those ordinary citizens.

What else could he do? He could only latch onto someone powerful.

As for a transmigrator's special cheat, he did have one, but...

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock at the door interrupted Baicang's thoughts.

"I'm home, big brother~"

A white-haired girl in a high school uniform pushed open the front door with her schoolbag on her back and greeted Baicang brightly.

Baicang turned toward the girl and answered with a smile, "Welcome home, Runo!"

Runo was his little sister in this world.

Although she was a high school girl, she had the petite, adorable figure of a middle schooler, along with dazzling, snow-white hair and a fair, delicate face like a porcelain doll's.

Add to that a bust completely at odds with her figure, and she was practically every woman's worst nightmare.

Runo and Baicang both had white hair, but they weren't biological siblings. They had met while growing up in an orphanage after monsters killed their families. Runo had followed Baicang everywhere since childhood, and they were extremely close.

After "Baicang" grew up and found a job, he couldn't bear to leave Runo alone, so he took her with him when he left the orphanage, and they began living together.

Looking at her brother standing by the door to welcome her.

Runo grinned, kicked off her shoes, tossed her schoolbag aside, and launched herself at Baicang.

Seeing Runo come flying toward him, Baicang hurried forward in alarm to catch her.

"How old are you now, still playing around like this? What if you fall!"

Baicang knocked Runo on the head in exasperation as she lay in his arms.

"Hehe~" (●""●)

When Runo refused to get out of his arms, Baicang could only say helplessly.

"Go put your things away. The supermarket had a big sale today, so I bought two pork chops. I'll make your favorite pork cutlet curry rice in a bit."

"Yay! I love you most, big brother!"

Runo smiled sweetly and lingered in Baicang's arms a little longer before reluctantly letting go.

"Sigh, she's gotten even clingier since then."

Watching Runo walk away, Baicang muttered under his breath, remembering what had happened when he first arrived in this world.

Back then, concerned for his future safety, Baicang had wanted to find Saitama as quickly as possible and ask to shelter under his wing.

But he couldn't find any information online about Caped Baldy. Even the news of the Vaccine Man attack from the beginning of the anime hadn't appeared.

That had made Baicang realize he had arrived a little before the anime's timeline began.

But the Hero Association had already been established for three years.

The timing couldn't have been too far off.

Baicang only remembered that Saitama lived in Z City, not his exact address, so he had planned to look around the area after finishing his shifts at the supermarket.

He had discovered that his body seemed to have been enhanced ever since he came to this world.

His strength had increased severalfold, and his jumping ability, coordination, and other athletic capabilities had all reached superhuman levels.

His strength was probably around B-Class.

As long as he wasn't unlucky enough to encounter a Demon-level monster, Baicang could still keep himself safe.

As it turned out.

He had clearly underestimated the danger of Z City's abandoned district. He hadn't found Saitama, but a pig-faced monster had set its sights on him instead.

It ambushed him on his way home one night.

Fortunately, a hero arrived in time to save him, but he was still gravely injured and admitted to the hospital unconscious.

He lay in the hospital for two days.

Only then did Baicang regain consciousness. The moment he woke up, he was startled by Runo standing beside his bed with a deathly expression.

He had even suspected that if he never woke up, this unfamiliar little sister of his would sink into eternal sleep alongside him.

Only when she saw Baicang wake up did a little color return to Runo's dull eyes. She threw herself onto him and immediately fainted.

Ever since then.

Runo had become even clingier, and Baicang couldn't continue searching for Saitama. Instead, he chose to stay with her.

Having such a silly little sister left him both helpless and content.

He turned and headed into the kitchen.

Baicang began cooking, deftly tying on an apron and taking the pork chops out of the refrigerator. He thought that this week's superpower was finally going to come in handy.

He silently commanded.

Superpower! Activate!

A "ding" sounded in his mind.

Knife Master: anything you cut will taste better.

Yes...

This was Baicang's cheat, and also the source of his heartache.

After transmigrating, he had awakened a superpower called "Steal the Sky and Replace the Sun." Just as he thought it must be some insanely powerful ability.

He noticed the description of the superpower in his mind.

Steal the Sky and Replace the Sun: you can remove other people's clothes at any time.

When he saw the description, Baicang fell apart. He even wondered whether he had transmigrated into the wrong world.

But everything had two sides.

The good news was that his superpower changed randomly once a week. The bad news was that not one of them had been useful.

And this week's ability was Knife Master.

Any superpower that made Runo happy with her meal was a good superpower. Baicang was very satisfied with this one.

After spending a while busy in the kitchen, Baicang came out carrying two steaming plates of pork cutlet curry rice.

"Runo, dinner's ready."

"Coming, coming!"

Runo jogged over and sat down in front of Baicang. Her eyes instantly lit up at the sight of the tempting pork cutlet curry rice.

She eagerly wolfed down a huge mouthful.

"Mmm... how can this taste so good!!"

Savoring the delicious food in her mouth, Runo couldn't help cupping her cheeks, hearts practically sparkling in her bright, wide eyes.

"Big brother, how did your cooking suddenly get so good?"

"Are you saying it wasn't good before?" Baicang put on an annoyed expression.

"Hehe." Runo stuck out her little tongue and pretended not to hear him, continuing to devour her pork cutlet.

"Oh, right, big brother. Are you really going to join that Hero Association and become a Professional Hero?"

Runo suddenly remembered some of the strange things her brother had told her a few days earlier, about becoming a hero and so on.

"Yeah. As long as I pass the test, I can become a Professional Hero."

"The salary will be quite a bit higher than what I earn working at the supermarket, and there are extra bonuses for completing missions."

Becoming a Professional Hero was a decision Baicang had made after careful consideration, even setting aside the social standing of S-Class Heroes and their many benefits.

First of all.

Living in this world, there was no avoiding its two central elements: monsters and heroes.

The monsters in this world were far too powerful. He had to make preparations, and the Hero Association was his only starting point.

To live in peace, and to protect Runo, he had to grow stronger.

Besides, once he became a high-ranking Professional Hero, Baicang would have greater freedom and convenience to act.

"But that would be really dangerous."

Runo was still very worried about her brother, afraid he would be attacked by a monster and put in danger like last time. The pork cutlet in her hand instantly lost its appeal.

"It's fine. I promise I won't get involved in anything dangerous."

"But... but..."

Seeing that Runo still refused to agree, Baicang had no choice but to bring out his trump card. He stood up and walked straight over to her.

He knelt on one knee, gazed affectionately at Runo, and gently stroked her head.

"Runo, be good."

Subjected to his head-patting attack, Runo puffed up her cheeks and said, "Don't treat me like a little kid. I'm already in high school.

"But since you've put it that way, I won't object. Still... if... something happens to you..."

(I won't stay in this world alone, either.)

"What was that?"

Runo's voice grew quieter and quieter toward the end, and Baicang couldn't quite hear her.

"I said! Stop patting my head! You'll stunt my growth!"

Runo sounded annoyed, but she didn't stop Baicang from stroking her head, and her little face was flushed red.

Hahaha-she's so easy to coax.

Satisfied, Baicang withdrew his hand and prepared to clear away the empty plates.

"When are you going?"

Only then did Runo cover her head in protest.

"In two days, probably. That's when the fifty-third Hero Assessment is being held."